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by jas190895
Summary: Based on spoilers for upcoming episodes. Callie tells Arizona some bad news and Arizona doesn't take it lightly. Will they be able to overcome their differences or will the results be catastrophic, destroying their relationship forever? CALZONA
1. Chapter 1

A short fic at the moment, at least 3 chapters maybe more. It's based on spoilers from what I've seen for upcoming episodes. I really hope the show has a good outcome planned! I hope you enjoy it :)

* * *

 **Arizona's point of view.**

I never thought it would come down to this.

I blindly recommended Penny for the Preminger Grant. It's a year in New York and we all know she's qualified enough for it. Perfect, pretty Penny. The whole hospital is practically in love with her, even Shepherd and Grey who despised her. I don't even hate her, she's seems to make Callie happy and from what I've seen she's even great with my own daughter. That's not to say I hate the idea of her.

So I'll admit it, I jumped at the chance to send Penny away, maybe a little too eagerly when Bailey asked for my recommendation. Honestly, I thought this would be the best thing all round, that way perfect Penny got to have her dream grant and I could work in this hospital for a year without seeing my exes new girlfriend everywhere I go. Callie and Penny – if their love was so strong it could survive a year. No doubt Callie could visit her, for even a few weeks at a time if she wished. She owned part of the hospital so I'm sure Bailey would have no problem with giving her the time off. No one would, not if the time off was to see perfect Penny.

But what I hadn't imagined, that fateful day in the hospital lockdown when I ironically got trapped with my ex-wife, what I hadn't imagined is that Callie was thinking of relocating to be with Penny. Perfect Penny was worth relocating for. Even though Callie didn't have a job opportunity out there, like she did when I received the Carter Madison grant. I don't want to be picky, that was a long time ago and if I hadn't come back from Africa, I would never have been there for the birth of my daughter. Who would have thought that six years on, my daughter is the only source of joy in my life?

So anyway, back to being stuck in lockdown. A kid had gone missing and Callie and I were discussing a play date that Sofia had, despite my previous concerns as to how her last playdate ended, when she dropped a bombshell on me.

"I…I need to talk to you about something" she bit her lip, the same way she always does when there's something big to tell. My heart is pounding, my stomach is lurching and my hands are beginning to go clammy because deep down I know the news she's about to give me and hearing it out loud is going to terrify me.

"You cannot be serious" I reply, a little harsher than what I intended.

"You haven't heard what I'm going to say" Callie responded, confused.

"So it doesn't have anything to do with perfect Penny or the Preminger grant then?" I reply, my cheeks flushing because I realised I just referred to Penny as perfect, sarcastically in front of her own girlfriend.

"I thought you liked Penny" Callie shoots back.

"I…" I trail off because I have nothing to say. "Callie if you dare think about relocating my baby for a year…"

"She's my daughter too" Callie responds.

"She's our daughter, she deserves to be with BOTH of us" I laugh because I can't believe that Callie is considering moving across the country to be with a woman she's known all of five minutes. A woman who our daughter has just met. Not to mention the woman Callie was reluctant to let our daughter meet just a couple of weeks ago.

"I forbid it" I tell Callie. "If you want to go and move across the country to be with Penny fine, that's on you but Sofia stays with me"

"I don't think so" Callie stands up and she's in my face and I can smell that oh so familiar scent of perfume that she always wore when we were together. I shut my eyes, wishing that she wasn't saying all of this horrible stuff with me, hoping, praying even that I'll wake up and find out it was all going to be a nightmare. "She's my daughter too, we can work something out, you can take her for the holidays" she offers as if that's going to make me feel any better.

"No, Calliope no" I blurt out, realising I called her by her full name, probably for the first time since the divorce. "And you can't do long distance with your girlfriend because?"

"It wouldn't work" Callie replies. "I love her" she offers some pathetic excuse as if I'm going to melt and agree to hand my daughter over to live in New York for a year.

"Wasn't it just a couple of weeks ago when you threw me under the bus?" I reply calmly. I don't have the energy to shout and scream really loudly. All I want is to make her see that moving our child out of a place and a school that she knows and loves to go to New York for one year so her mom's new girlfriend work's her ass off and barely spends any time with the pair of them, is completely and utterly irrational. But Callie, we may have been divorced for two years but I know her well. She's moving too quickly, too quickly that she herself may not be aware of the repercussions. "Have you talked to Sofia about this?" I ask, a sudden terrifying thought coming to my mind. If she already has and Sofia wants to go then that would make things ten, no a hundred times worse.

"No" Callie shook her head. "I wanted to talk to you first"

"How considerate" I mutter sarcastically. "Well my answer is no"

"I'm trying to make things easier for you here Arizona" she glances at me as I pace around the room wondering why she isn't understanding that my answer will never not be a no.

"By trading off who gets our child for most of the year and who gets her in the holidays?" I laugh. "Sounds like a fair deal"

"It's a great opportunity" She tells me. I know it is, I know receiving a prestigious grant is a great opportunity.

"I know" I reply through gritted teeth. "Trust me, I know" I stare at her and I know that she knows that I am referring to when I found out I received the Carter Madison grant. "Callie why are you doing this?" I reply, my voice is beginning to break because I can see just how serious she is about uprooting Sofia's whole life. "She's my baby too, she calls me mama" the tears begin to fall from my cheeks and Callie just stares at me the whole time.

Callie doesn't respond and I'm too choked up to argue anymore. I sit in the corner of the room and wait for lock down to pass. I know that I won't let Sofia go, how can I let the one thing that makes me happy disappear from my life? I could never let that happen.

* * *

Finally, lockdown passes. I haven't spoken anymore to Callie and she hasn't to me either. I want to rush out but her arm on my shoulder stops me.

"You can have her tonight" she offers me a night with my child with a huge smile on my face like it's some great reward that I should be utterly grateful for. I know she's doing it to try and sweeten me up. I could have every night with Sofia before she left for New York and my answer would still be no.

"Thanks" I mutter, desperate to get out of that room and get away from her because I am so angry. Tears are still falling down my face and it isn't long before I find April, the girl who I need most at this time.

"I got stuck on lockdown with Jackson and guess how awkward that was" she tells me, presumably not seeing how much of a mess I am. "It was the worst thing" she moans before looking over at me. "What happened?" she asked, with a concerned tone to her voice. "Arizona?" she strokes my arm gently and the tears only fall harder.

"Callie" I stutter as I feel April's arms around me.

"What happened, sweetie?" I hear her as she hugs me closer to her.

"She's taking Sofia away" I gulp taking deep breaths to try and calm myself down. "April she's taking my baby"

April doesn't respond but I can feel her hugging me just a little bit tighter. I can hear two voices around the corner. They're easily recognisable. Callie and Penny. My name is mentioned a lot.

"Arizona didn't take it well" Callie tells Penny.

"I doubted she would" Penny says. April and I glance at each other both of us eager to know what they're talking about.

"I just hope we get her on board" Callie responds. "We've just got to this amazing place and New York sounds cool" she says. I hate the tone of her voice when she talks to Penny. There's nothing real about that. I'm a little uplifted when I realise she's talking in the same tone she used whenever I talked about Africa. The insincerity in her voice, surely Callie is having some form of doubts about this. She owns a hospital, she earns a great salary, has a great house and a great lot of friends. I don't know how special Penny is, but there are plenty more fish in the sea and Callie could have them all if it meant she wouldn't take my daughter away from me.

The voices fade away because their pagers both sound again so April and I are left alone.

"She can't be serious" April is angry, at least she's showing it. I realise how pathetic I was during lockdown, not having the energy to fight even though I felt that my blood was boiling.

"I don't know what to do" I dry my eyes and glance up at April.

"You have rights" April tells me. "She can't move your child across the country"

"So what I have to take her to court?" I ask, a little surprised by this. I always thought Callie and I would be in a good enough place to not have to fight for custody over Sofia. But it turns out I was wrong about that and if Callie is serious about this whole thing, maybe I will have to consider my rights as Sofia's parent.

"Callie seems pretty certain" April tells me. "When does the grant start again?"

"About 2 months" I respond, shutting my eyes. If Callie is serious about taking Sofia away and if April tells me to go to court and I lose, then 2 months is all I have left with my daughter before her next school holidays. This crushes me and I realise that if Callie is certain about taking Sofia away then I am just as certain about keeping her in Seattle.

"I need to find a lawyer who specialises in child custody cases" I blurt out, typing away on my phone. It isn't long before google gives me some answers and I'm put in contact with a lawyer who's supposedly had great success in child custody cases. I'm nervous when he comes to the phone and maybe this is all a big mistake, Callie doesn't even sound sure that she wants to go. But I take a deep breath, I can't take any chances, I have to fight for what's mine.

"Hi would you like to make an appointment to see John Williams?" the secretary asks. I nod, realising this is stupid because the secretary cannot physically see me.

"Yes" I whisper, my voice is hoarse from all the shouting and all the crying.

"Okay sweetheart" the woman responds and I can tell she's pitying me because of the way I sound on the phone. "I have Wednesday at 10am?"

"That's fine" I whisper again. I have a light day that day anyway and Karev can take charge if there's any emergency cases.

"Great, what's the name?" she asks.

"Arizona. Arizona Robbins" I mumble.

"Pretty name" she compliments me. It makes me feel a little better and makes me forget that I'm on the phone booking an appointment with a lawyer over getting custody over Sofia. I smile.

"Thank you" I reply.

"So I have you all booked in for 10am on Wednesday. You can look online for the documents you have to bring"

"Okay"

"And Arizona?" the woman says my name just as the call is about to end.

"Yes?" I reply.

"You're in good hands. John Williams is the best" she tells me before the line goes dead.


	2. Chapter 2

Just a little head's up that although Penny is mentioned in the fic it is not and will not be turned into a Callie and Penny fic (I'm steering it towards some sort of reconciliation aka my dream outcome on the show). :) I don't really rate the Callie/Penny pairing or their storyline and I honestly hope there is a positive outcome on the show, surely after all this time? I still have hope anyway! Hope ya enjoy this next chapter! :)

* * *

 **Callie's point of view.**

I'm happy, aren't I?

I look at the scene in front of me, watching Penny play with Sofia in our backyard yet it alarms me that I have to ask myself these questions. Do I want to move to New York? If Sofia wasn't involved and Penny and I were in a strong relationship, then yes. But life is a lot more complicated, there's not just me to think of anymore, there's Sofia and there's Arizona. And telling Arizona that I was considering this was tough. The look on her face is haunting me. So now I look upon the scene staring out questioning just how happy I am. Is it worth it? Is moving Sofia across the country, away from her mother and just for one year…is it worth it?

Penny didn't even ask me to move to New York, she had just assumed I'd follow her because normally that's what people in relationships do. Except I didn't with Arizona and it wasn't long before she threw that back in my face. This is a big step, a step that I'm not sure I should be taking, something is holding me back. Sofia loves her mama a hell of a lot more than what I feel for Penny. Even a hell of a lot more than all the love I had for Arizona. Arizona may not be Sofia's biological mom but it doesn't change the fact that their relationship is rock solid and here I am standing in the way of it. So I have to ask myself these questions, because I need to know what to do. Sofia and Penny come in through the garden.

"Hey little miss, you looked as though you were having fun out there" I comment as Sofia smiles up at me.

"I was mommy, I won the game!" she replies, referring to some game she was playing outside.

"She did" Penny confirms, smiling at me. I just glance down at Sofia.

"Well now you're mucky so you need to go and put some new clothes on while I make dinner" I tell her. "We don't want you turning up to mama's house all muddy" I warn her.

"Mama won't mind" Sofia cheerfully replies and I smile because I know that it's true. I could take Sofia straight from soccer practice to Arizona's place caked in mud and she still wouldn't care. Arizona was always the good cop. I was the stricter one. I never expected Arizona to be so lenient, so loving with our baby girl. That sounds bad to say, I know but she was so insistent about not becoming a mother, we even broke up because we wanted different things at one point, that I just assumed that it would take her a while to truly feel as though she was a mother. She was a great mother instantly and still is despite what ever happened between us.

"Mama will mind" I warn her. "So clothes, now!" I tell her.

"Is Penny staying for dinner?" Sofia asks. I'm not quite sure if she's taken to Penny yet. She likes having someone to play with and they've only met a handful of times. Penny hasn't stayed over yet and I still haven't had an in-depth discussion about Penny with Sofia. I glance over at Penny.

"Actually, I think Penny has to go" I tell my daughter who just nods, not showing any emotion at this. She waves goodbye to Penny and goes to her room, hopefully following my orders to dress into clean clothes.

"So I have to go huh?" I turn around and she's there with her hand on her hip.

"I'm sorry" I reply. "Just not tonight I need time"

"Fine" she responds. "In a few weeks you won't have time Callie. It will be us and Sofia and we're living in New York"

"I" I open my mouth to insist that I didn't actually say anything about going. I wonder how I let it go this far without correcting her. It was the Arizona situation all over again. I didn't tell Arizona I didn't want to go until the last minute, or more so she told me she didn't want me to go. Was history beginning to repeat itself?

"I will see you at the hospital later. You should talk to Arizona again" she suggests as if she knows anything about my ex-wife. I could "talk" to Arizona about this for the rest of my life and she still wouldn't budge on the issue.

"You have no idea what Arizona's like" I shake my head.

"Then explain the opportunities that you and Sofia will have out there" she suggests. "It's New York, Sofia could have the best year of her life living this new life"

"Arizona doesn't see it that way" I begin to explain. I also do not see it that way. I don't think Penny understands that just because she got a grant that it will be just as easy for me to find work out there. And even if I did find a job that was so good as the one I have here in Seattle, there's no way I'd have the same friends. And I'd been through a lot with my friends, a lot more than Penny could understand.

"I just don't think I could do long distance Callie" she drops this bombshell on me. "It's messy and our relationship will take a back seat and we're so new…"

"But it's fine for Sofia's relationship with her mother to take a back seat?" I tell her. "What if Sofia doesn't want to go?" I question. "Am I supposed to follow you across the country leaving my daughter behind just because you can't do long distance for a year?"

We're interrupted by the sound of her pager and I'm pretty glad. I seem to be arguing with everyone these days. Of course I am over exaggerating, but arguing with Arizona was exhausting enough without arguing with Penny on top of that. I haven't seen Arizona since and I know I'm seeing her tonight and I'm a little nervous. Luckily with Sofia there, I know there won't be any full blown arguments occurring.

"Turns out I do need to go" she adds. "So at least you aren't lying to your daughter" she adds bitterly. I bite my lip watching her gather up her things before I hear the door slam shut. Sofia emerges back into the room looking at the door.

"When I shut the door loudly you shout at me mommy" she points out. I hold out my arms, wanting to lift her up and she lets me.

"I think Penny was just angry"

"Sometimes I get angry too" Sofia insists. "Like when you don't let me have cookies"

"Because cookies are bad for you" I smile, only now noticing that she did change out of her clothes. "What do you want for dinner?" I ask. I'm not particularly hungry so I can give Sofia what she wants as long as it isn't ridiculously unhealthy.

"Spaghetti" Sofia smiles. It's one of her favourite dishes, spaghetti and meatballs. One of Arizona's too now I think about it. It's one of the dishes I've mastered.

"Just like mama" I smile at her, before letting her sit on one of the kitchen counters as I go about preparing the meal. "Mama loves that meal too"

"Did you make it for mama?" Sofia widens her eyes. "I don't remember"

"That's because you were only a little thing" I tell her. "Mama loved it just as much as you did, little miss"

"Mama calls me little miss too" she grins. "Why doesn't mama live with us?" she glances up at me as I fill a pot full of water. I sigh.

"Because we wanted to be the best mommas to you and we couldn't do that living together" I tell her.

"I think you would still be the best mommas if mama lived with us too and then I would see you both all the time" Sofia glances up at me.

"How about we make mama some dinner too and we can take it over to her place later?" I add, hoping this will change the topic. "Does that sound good?" I ask.

"Yes mommy" Sofia replies. I smile, knowing she's lost interest in questioning why me and Arizona don't live with one another and go about fixing the dinner, adding just a little bit extra so that there's enough for Arizona too.

* * *

 **Arizona's point of view.**

Callie is avoiding me.

She told me she wanted to move Sofia across the country and now she is avoiding me. At least I'll get to see her tonight and boy do I have some news for her. I'm not going to let Sofia go without a fight and Callie would be stupid to think otherwise.

Finally, I've calmed down. John Williams really seems like the best man for the job. He told me all about his success stories in child custody cases and I told him about the situation so maybe I do have a chance. But what if I don't? At the end of the day I'm not Sofia's biological mother and everyone knows the way court cases work, the biological mother nearly always wins. But I can't lose hope, I need to stay strong, strong enough to convince a judge that I am the person who my daughter should be with.

Sofia is coming over tonight and I am super super excited. I've brought snacks, films to watch and her toys are in the living room waiting to be played with. I even brought soda. Callie hates it when she drinks soda, but hey I hate the fact that she wants to take Sofia away so I figured a little bit of soda wouldn't hurt after all.

I'm not ready to see Callie, not without feeling that I want to lash out but I can't say anything in front of Sofia. Sofia can't know that anything's wrong. I need to stay calm enough to ask Callie if Sofia even knows about New York because my daughter is super chatty and from what I've seen of her since Callie's bombshell, she hasn't mentioned anything about going somewhere with mommy and Penny. This makes me even more nervous. What was Callie really planning to do? Was she only planning on telling Sofia at the last possible moment? She deserves a say too. I deserve a say.

The doorbell rings and I immediately leap to my feet eager to answer the door, to greet my gorgeous girl and get this encounter with Callie out of the way. Like I mentioned earlier, things with Williams went really well and I have decided to sue Callie for custody. I don't think she's left me with many more options and Sofia is just as much mine as what she is Callie's, despite what biology says, despite my wrongdoings leading to the destruction of my relationship with Callie. Williams sounded hopeful as he discussed my case. Sofia is settled in to Seattle. She's at a great school, she has great friends and all of my friends are around her to help out. She has a great babysitter, it's taken Callie and I years to trust a babysitter to take care of Sofia if both of us had long surgeries and now she's willing to let that slide, to let Sofia be in the care of a babysitter Callie neither knows nor trusts and that I would never get to meet. I open the door, choosing to look straight down at Sofia because I'm still too angry to look Callie in the eye.

"Baby girl" I scoop her up immediately smothering her in kisses which results in squeals and giggles. The noise is music to my ears and for a split second I forget I'm so livid at her mother and I smile whilst looking at Callie directly in the eye. It doesn't last long and I'm surprised when she is smiling back but before I know it the smile has disappeared of my face.

"Mommy and I made you spaghetti because mommy said it was your favourite" Sofia tells me as I reluctantly invite Callie in. I do it all the other times when she drops and picks Sofia up, so stopping that little tradition now would just cause Sofia to ask a whole bunch of questions I really don't feel like asking.

"Thanks" I reply shortly to Callie taking the Tupperware box from her hands. Even though it's cooled down I can still smell the cooking and I realise how hungry I am and how great Callie was at making this dish. Callie sits down beside me.

"Sofia how about you go and put a little DVD on for a while?" I ask. "Your mom and I need to talk for a little bit" I tell her, trying to make it sound as though it's a light-hearted thing.

"What about?" she asks. Of course, she got her nosiness of Callie. I realise how much our daughter takes after Callie. It's a constant reminder of my double loss.

"We need to talk about your birthday gifts" Callie responds as Sofia's eyes widen. She's excited. I mouth a quick thank-you at Callie for the excuse as Sofia leaves the room to put a DVD on.

"No coming down until we shout or there will be no party" Callie calls after her just to make sure we won't be disturbed. She turns to me once we hear Sofia's footprints fading out and she makes her way into her room.

"You didn't have to make me dinner" I tell her.

"I…I wanted to" she replies.

"I hope you don't expect me to change my mind" I tell her as I put the dinner on a plate and put it into the microwave to reheat it. "She's my baby Callie" I suddenly turn. "I mean she's yours and she's Mark's but she's mine too"

"I know" Callie bits her lip. "Trust me, I know"

"Have you even asked Sofia about what she wants?" I ask, praying her answer is no because if she responds yes and Sofia actually wants to leave Seattle and her mama behind then it will only break my heart into a million pieces.

"I haven't" she admits. She looks exhausted as though she's stuck in limbo with no idea what to do.

"Do you love her?" I ask. "Penny, do you love her?"

"What do you mean?" she asks. I tap my foot impatiently.

"It's not rocket science Callie" I reply. "Have you told her that you love her?"

"No" she admits, whispering so that it's barely audible.

"You want to move across the country to be with a woman who you haven't even said I love you yet" I tell her, hoping to make it see how ridiculous it sounds. "Let's take Sofia out of the equation for a moment because she and I may be the only thing that are holding you back"

"Fine" Callie mumbles. She won't look me in the eye now and I can only hope that what I'm going to say is going to get through to her.

"If you and I had just broken up, if instead of sleeping with Mark and having our daughter you just got with Penny instead. If the same situation came about would you leave?" I ask.

"I don't know" she mutters, looking up at me in the eye. "I never said I would go to New York"

"Well you sure as hell made it clear to me that you wanted to" I reply bitterly as I wait for the pasta to cool down. "And coming over her with peace offering pasta isn't going to make me hand over Sofia"

"That was not what I am trying to do" Callie glances at me. "What kind of manipulative bitch do you think I am?" she questions.

There's a silence in the room. An awkward silence. Neither of us are attempting to fill it, we're just staring at one another.

"Penny got the grant, Penny assumed we would be coming with her" Callie tells me. "I never said I would but then the more I thought about it it could be a good thing for us"

"But it's not a good thing for me" I cry out in exasperation. "You are talking about taking the only source of happiness in my life away from me like it doesn't even matter because it's such a great opportunity" I slam my fork down on to the plate because this conversation is suppressing my appetite. "You moved on, you got to be happy again, all I have is Sofia" I add, trying to blink back tears.

"I thought you were dating" Callie adds softly.

"Because a couple of dates provides just as much happiness as my daughter" I reply sarcastically. "I tried to move on but I don't want dating and one night stands, I want a relationship" I tell her. "I want someone to come home to, who isn't going to sneak out in the morning. I want someone that loves Sofia just as much as I do"

"No one is stopping you from finding that person" Callie tells me.

"I found that person Callie" I respond, blurting it out before I can even process what I'm saying. "I had that with you"

There's another silence in the room. Callie just keeps looking at me trying to understand what I'm saying.

"I see how happy you are and it's great. It's great for you and Penny and Sofia, but it isn't great for me" I tell her. "Believe me I know I was wrong, you had every right to leave me"

"I know" Callie responds. "But it wasn't an easy decision" she shakes her head as though I should know that.

"I had that one great love, I don't know if I'll find anyone to be with like that again. But you have and that's so great for you so if Penny is this great love then one year of long distance won't hurt" I glance over at Callie.

"She…she won't" Callie screws her face up.

"Bailey…Bailey will give you all the time off you need" I stammer.

"You talked to Bailey about this?" Callie stands up.

"I had to give you a reason not to take Sofia away" I glance over at Callie.

"New York is just for a year Arizona I promise that I will bring Sofia for all the holidays…"

"It's just not good enough"

"Come with us" she suddenly blurts out.

"It's already too hard being around you" I shake my head. "How do you still have that effect on me two years later?" I ask, receiving no reply.

"I don't know what you want from me" She admits.

"I want my daughter in Seattle, not New York. Your love with Penny is so strong, it will survive a year of long distance"

"But it won't" Callie tells me. "She said it herself"

"Yet you're still willing to go to New York with a woman who you haven't even said you're in love with yet?" I ask her. "It…just doesn't make any sense so no Calliope no, Sofia stays put and you can do whatever you want"

"You think I'm going to leave Sofia and go be with Penny?" she laughs sarcastically. "I would never do that she is my daughter"

"You are doing the exact same to me Callie" I reply, still trying to stay calm but I'm prepared to say the next thing. "So I took matters into my own hands"

"What are you talking about?" Callie comes over to me and there's a weird look in her eye. I stand up straight, staring her right in the eye.

"What I'm saying is, you will have to fight me for Sofia first" I reply. "I'm going for full custody".


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for the reviews. I hope you enjoy this next chapter! I'm a little nervous for the upcoming weeks of Grey's after last night's episodes. Praying for a positive Calzona outcome going into season 13!

* * *

 **Arizona's point of view.**

It's just the two of us. Glaring at one another. Wanting to speak but no words are coming out. Callie is crying. I am holding back the tears. Sofia remains upstairs waiting for us to shout her downstairs but we won't be. Not for a while.

"How could you do this she is my child?" Callie questions. The look in our eyes is full of betrayal and hurt as if I've done the worst thing in the world. How can Callie be so naïve.

"She is OUR child" I shout back, aware that my daughter is upstairs probably hearing that we're arguing but this needs to be said. I can't hold it in. "You want to move across the country with OUR child, Callie. She's not just yours" I am so angry that I can feel my hands trembling. I can't believe that after raising Sofia since she was born, Callie would have the nerve to just assume I'd be fine with her leaving.

"You could visit her whenever you wanted and you could come stay in New York and she could come here and…and" Callie offers me all sorts of pathetic excuses as to why I should be okay that she wants to follow a woman she's known all of five minutes across the country to be with.

"You have known her for five minutes, Callie" I glare at her. "I've known Sofia for her whole life and yet that means nothing to you"

"When did I say that?" Callie yells. "I said you could visit all the freakin' time" she stands up and she gets pretty close to me. "It's a year, you'd get to see her constantly"

"Well then that should be no problem for you then if Sofia stays here with me" I reply. "After all, you'll get to see her all the time" I add sarcastically to back up my point.

"That's not the same" she shakes her head but I'm confused. It's the exact same.

"You can go ahead and be with Penny, that's not the issue" I begin. "But I have the same legal rights to our daughter as you do and I refuse to let you uproot her entire life for a year. New school, new friends, you won't have an entire village to support her but you will if you stay here"

"How can I leave my daughter behind Arizona?" she glances at me.

"You expect me to be okay with you taking her away, but you leaving her behind is too much?" I laugh sarcastically. "This is your problem, Callie. You wear your heart on your sleeve, you're so eager to jump through hoops to be with the person you love without any consideration for the heartbreak you are causing for others"

"There were easier ways to go around this" Callie tells me. "You got the courts involved do you know what that means?" she yells.

"It means I have a better chance of obtaining full custody of our daughter whilst you get to live it up for a year in New York" I tell her. "What is your point in going for a year, Sofia's in a good school, she's getting good grades, she has good friends and you want to ruin that so you can be with Penny. Who our daughter barely knows?" I ask.

"Social services could get involved for life. They will look at our parenting skills and judge us on them. Don't you see what you have done?"

"I have done what is for the best for me and Sofia" I tell Callie, unable to look her in the eye because I'm unbelievably mad at her. "I am done discussing this with you"

"You drop a bombshell like that on me and then just expect me to leave?" Callie replies. "No I don't think so"

"That sounds awfully familiar don't you think" I state referring to the lock down. "I stand by my decision and I will see you in court"

"Don't do this Arizona" Callie tries to warn me.

"Don't try and take her away from me" I yell. Callie takes a couple of steps back and my cheeks are burning up. I can hear my daughter's footsteps entering into the kitchen We both try and dry our eyes, trying to put on a brave face in front of Sofia.

"Mama why are you shouting?" she asks in a sad, quiet little voice that breaks my heart into a million pieces. I can hear Callie's voice break as she tries to reply so in the end she doesn't even bother. We stare down at our beautiful girl, both of us blinking back our tears, and both so mad at one another that we can't actually believe it came down to this. I pick Sofia up and cuddle her in close. She makes me feel instantly better and my chest begins to relax and my breathing returns to normal.

"It's okay little miss" I stroke her hair and try to calm her down. I'm almost positive that I can feel her own hands tighten around me and I shut my eyes, knowing Callie is watching our every move.

"Mama I don't want to move away" she whispers and it's only then I realise she's heard a lot more than what she's letting on. She says it quiet enough so that Callie doesn't hear but it makes me feel a million times better.

"Sofia you weren't supposed to hear any of that" I notice that tears are trickling down my face. I mouth to Callie that she heard a lot more than what we intended and instantly Callie holds her head in her hands. We both seem calmer, having Sofia in our presence helps us to communicate more effectively, we can't get mad or yell because she'll get scared and upset and no amount of yelling is worth breaking that poor girls heart.

"Sofia baby" Callie comes over to me and takes Sofia from my arms. It's the closest we've been since the divorce. When Sofia breaks away I can see her little tear-stained face and I gulp because this is not how I pictured my life to be.

"It's a great opportunity for Penny…for all of us" Callie tells her, drying Sofia's tears away with her thumb. "It's New York" she emphasizes as if Sofia is really going to be fussed about living in such a place at her age. All she wants to do is watch TV, see her school friends and play at the park. Things that are readily available in Seattle.

Sofia shakes her head in response and I really want to play the blame game with Callie and question why she didn't even ask Sofia's opinion like our daughter should just be expected to give up her entire life for a year. I shake my head and go into the kitchen to fix our daughter a drink of soda.

"She's not allowed soda" Callie immediately argues but Sofia takes a big gulp of the drink anyway.

"Give it a rest Callie" I'm too tired to fight with her on such trivial things.

"I thought you liked Penny?" Callie questions our daughter who is taking bigger sips of the soda.

"But I don't want to leave mama" her little face crumples up.

"You will see mama all the time baby" Callie tries to tell her. "Isn't that right?" she glances up at me as though I'm going to respond with what she wants to hear.

"No she won't" I tell Callie. "Don't treat her as though she is an idiot. It's a six hour flight, one I won't be able to make every weekend. You haven't even asked if I would be okay flying that distance considering my experience with planes" I add. Her face falls.

"I just assumed…" she adds, her hands are over her mouth. "I'm so sorry"

"It's too late for that Callie" I tell her. "Please can you go so I can spend some quality time with my daughter. God knows how much of that I might have left" I add quietly so Sofia can't hear. Callie opens her mouth to respond but decides against it. She nods and leaves and I've never been more glad to get rid of her in my entire life.

"Sorry baby girl" I cradle Sofia close to me. "I'm so sorry"

"Mama don't make me go" she glances up at me. "I want to stay with you and play with Zola and Kayla" she pouts. "I don't want to go with Penny"

"I will fight for you, okay little miss" I promise her. "I will fight to keep you here"

"But I don't want mommy to go either" she admits and I realise this situation is a lose-lose for our daughter. Callie and I have to figure something out before we lose the trust of Sofia in the process.

"Mommy needs to see that you and her belong here" I tell her. "Now" I add brightly. "There will be no more talk about sad things, this is mama and Sofia time and we're going to have fun" I give her my biggest smile. "So dry your eyes and show me your biggest super magic smile" I beam at her. Sofia does the same and she makes me feel better already. I turn the dvd player on and go and collect Sofia's favourite blankets and some snacks for the film. Normally Sofia wants to sit by herself, claiming that she's too big to be cuddled like a little baby but tonight she doesn't leave my lap. My phone buzzes and I check the text, it's from Callie.

 **How is she?**

 **Upset but I think she's calmed down –** I reply. I'm not going to lie to Callie about how Sofia is feeling to make Callie feel better. She has a right to know that her actions have consequences.

 **This is a mess –** comes her response a couple of moments later.

 **You know what I want and you know what our child wants so fix it** – I respond realising that the message is probably a little too harsh but it's nothing Callie can't deal with. I place the phone down and continue watching the rest of the movie with my daughter.

* * *

 **Callie's point of view**

"I told Sofia that we were moving to New York" I take a deep breath as I land on Penny's doorstep.

"Great, how did she take it"

"Not well" I respond. Penny seems surprised. "She was never going to take leaving Arizona well"

"Did you explain that she could visit whenever she wanted?" Penny asked. "This is such a big deal for us Callie"

"It's a big deal for you" I narrow my brows at her. "Not for me, not even for Sofia"

"So it's a big deal for me" Penny laughs. "You'll find a job, you'll find a school"

"And how about after the year, if you get offered work in Europe or another state?" I question. "Am I supposed to follow you then?"

"You love me don't you?"

"I…" I trail off. "I don't know" I tell her noticing her face beginning to crumple. It didn't break my heart nearly as much as what it did when Sofia started to cry earlier. "How can I leave this place not knowing how I feel about you yet? I own part of the hospital Penny, I have a child and an ex-wife and it is unfair to split them up"

"You had no issue before"

"I hadn't thought it through. I only ever considered you and me in that equation. Not Sofia or even Arizona. Both of them were heartbroken"

"But I can't do long distance relationship" Penny tells me, almost pleading with me to reconsider. "I can't wait for you to love me from afar"

"I know. Neither can I" I tell her. "But maybe it's a good thing, you'll be working crazy hours and you wouldn't even have time for me and Sofia"

"I guess" Penny replies although I can still see that she's upset.

"My life is here. My family is here" I tell her. "My family is so much more than just Sofia. It's Arizona, it's Meredith, it's Owen, It's Bailey…it's everyone" I tell her. "You are a great person"

"But this is the end, right?" she glances up at me. "I think you're right it is for the best. I should never have made you talk to Arizona about moving Sofia away.

"She applied for sole custody" I tell her. "She loves our daughter so much, she's an amazing mom and I just can't do it to her"

"I understand" Penny laughs. "I guess I'll just see you around?" she questions. She won't be leaving for a few weeks yet but there's no point in carrying it on, not when we know things are coming to an end. Besides, she might even leave earlier than that. I smile at her, a little upset because it's still a break up but I feel right because I've done the right thing by Sofia. I go to text Arizona again, before realising that the best way to break the news is by appearing at their doorstep, despite if it's the last thing Arizona wants right now. I race over in my car and knock on the door. I can hear them both giggling at a film and I can witness them both cuddling into each other. I smile at the scene when I'm waiting for Arizona to come to the door. She does, answering the door with a smile before frowning.

"Callie…" She greets me. "I'm done talking"

"Just listen" I tell her. "You were right I never should have assumed you would be fine with me moving our daughter to New York. When you said you spoke to a lawyer, it freaked me out knowing that I was possibly going to lose Sofia and that scared the hell out of me so I know just how you must have felt" I pause for breath. "Penny and I broke up"

"What?" Arizona questions shutting the door behind her and stepping out on the porch so we can talk with a bit more privacy.

"You were right, I wear my heart on my sleeve" I tell her. "I can't split you and Sofia up" I tell her. She processes this for a moment before her face lights up.

"You're not really going" she replies with the biggest smile on my face. I open my mouth to confirm it but her arms are immediately around me, squeezing me so so tightly. It's familiar and it's comforting just after a break up and it feels so good having Arizona's arms around me again. The look on Arizona's face tells me that this was the right thing to do.

"Thank you" she smiles, hugging me again. "Thank you"

I go to walk away because I don't want to intrude on her night with Sofia any more than I have to. Arizona calls after me.

"You will find someone you know" she shouts. "I know it's hard"

What's surprising to me is that the breakup is less upsetting than what I thought it was going to be, but after going through a divorce, I suppose a break-up pales in comparison. I knew I wouldn't have any regrets about not following Penny to New York, but I would have multiple regrets about leaving Seattle.

"I never had that great love with Penny like I had with you, Arizona" I turn around and tell her. "I've never had that great love with anyone except you and a part of me will always love you"

She stays silent so I continue.

"I love what a great mom you are to our daughter, I love how fierce and protective you are over her and I love that you didn't just back down"

"I never would have" Arizona ensures me. I come closer to her.

"And I know we haven't been close lately, but I would really love it if we could put this stuff behind us and become friends?" I question.

"I'd like that" she purses her lips and smiles. "A lot" she adds. "But maybe you should come inside for a minute to tell Sofia the news, before you go home and watch romantic films with wine" she pats my arm sympathetically. "It will get better though"

"I know" I smile back. "Now you can drop the whole custody battle" I glance at her. "You are going to drop the custody battle, aren't you?"

"As long as our arrangement continues like this, I have no reason to fight for sole custody" she says as we make our way inside. Sofia turns around on the couch and instantly sees my face. She isn't her usual chirpy self, or at least not the way she was with Arizona when I saw them in the window. I know she's mad at me.

"Sofia look it's mommy" Arizona tries to intervene but Sofia still gives no response. "Sofia" Arizona puts on her strict mama voice. "Mommy's got some news for you" she walks over and turns the TV off which causes a groan from Sofia. We sit on either side of her and she immediately cuddles into Arizona, burrowing her head in Arizona so she can't see my face.

"I'm mad at mommy" I can hear her tell Arizona quietly. Arizona shrugs at me.

"Listen to what mommy has to say so then you can decide if your still mad at her" Arizona suggests, prising Sofia off me so she's finally looking at me.

"We're going to stay here baby" I tell her. "I should have spoken to you and mama about it first before making plans"

"No New York?" Sofia eyes me up suspiciously as though I'm playing a trick on her. I nod.

"No New York" I confirm. "We're just fine here kiddo"

She processes this, the same way her mother did outside before she smiles. It amazes me that even though Sofia isn't biologically Arizona's, that she has so many of her traits. She gives me the biggest bear hug.

"Thank you mommy" she whispers. I glance over at Arizona who squeezes my hand for support. I let Sofia go and leave the pair of them to their night, with both of them looking a lot happier than what they did before. I get into the car and drive home, feeling confident in the decision that I made.


End file.
